Small drones are becoming an increasingly prevalent air traffic hazard,,and now the Federal Aviation Administration has signed an agreement with CACI International to test technology intended to find the pilots of such craft flying illegally near airports.
In recent congressional testimony, FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker said drones flying too near an airfield is a safety hazard. Under the agreement with CACI, the FAA will assess the safety and security capabilities of CACI’s product within a five-mile radius of airports.
In his testimony, Whitaker said many drone operators are new entrants to the hobby, lacking the experience of more experienced pilots of remote-controlled aircraft. “These new entrants are often unaware that they are operating in shared airspace. The proliferation of small and relatively inexpensive UAS presents a real challenge: to successfully integrate unmanned aircraft into our airspace, we must integrate these new operators into our aviation safety culture,” he said. “We want people to enjoy this new technology – but we want to make sure they do it safely. This requires education as well as creative and collaborative public outreach.”
The CACI partnership is part of FAA’s UAS Pathfinder Program, a framework for the agency and industry to work together on a path for unmanned aircraft operations.
